MORGAN HILL — A man and a van are being sought after three similar suspicious incidents, the latest of which involved a 13-year-old girl being pursued by a man with a “weird gait” who apparently got out of the vehicle to chase her Friday morning, police said.

On Friday, the 13-year-old girl reported to police that she was walking on Ciolino Avenue shortly before 9 a.m. when she noticed a white van, similar to a Chevy Astrovan or GMC Safari, parked along the street.

She walked a short distance and looked behind her toward the van, and saw a man who had not been there before, rapidly coming down the road toward her.

The girl rushed to a neighbor’s house to call authorities, and the van was last seen heading south on Monterey Road.

The suspicious man was described as white and in his mid-30s, short and “chubby” in stature, with short, balding hair or possibly a crew cut. He was wearing jeans and a green sweatshirt with a dark green sweater-vest over it, possibly Christmas-themed with a floral print.

Hoefling said his manner of running made it appear that he is “somewhat handicapped or has a bum leg.”

The report came after two other suspicious incidents involving a similar van.

On Nov. 24, a female jogger said she was followed by a white van with orange lettering in the area of Del Monte Avenue and Foothill Court.

And on Nov. 7, a 14-year-old girl reported a white van with red lettering driven by a man in his 30s tailed her for several blocks in the area of Peak Avenue.

“Two of them were less than a block away from each other; the other was maybe two blocks away,” Hoefling said.

He said “one would think” that the van and its driver have a connection to the area.

“If someone was in the area for just a short time, they wouldn’t still be there doing something similar a month later,” he said.

Hoefling said investigators believe all three incidents involve the same van and are disturbed that the driver got out of the vehicle on Friday.

“We hope that this is not him progressing and getting more and more brazen,” Hoefling said.

Anyone with information about this or other similar incidents is asked to call Morgan Hill police at 408-779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at 408-947-7867.

Eric Kurhi is a reporter for the Bay Area News Group based at The Mercury News. He covers Santa Clara County government and general assignment duties. An East Bay native, he has been editing and reporting at local newspapers since graduating from San Francisco State University in 1997.